M+S Mash Up

Hi Everyone!

After picking up a few polishes in the Marks and Spencer's beauty hall, I noticed that they had the same shimmer running through them. The first one being Cappuccino, which I posted about here and the second one being the Lilac polish. They both share a rather pretty golden shimmer, and so because of this, I decided to try a slight gradient mani with the two of them!

Here's what I came up with!

What I love about this mani, is how the lilac only shows up in a brighter light - blink and you can miss it as the golden shimmer just brings the two colours together! Its an unusual combination of colours, and I think it just about works!

What do you think about this combination? Do you think it works?

Let me know,

Love Charlotte x

Hello Stranger...

Well, hi there!

Long time no see! Just stopping in to check that we're all OK.

I know its been a while (2 months to be fair) but I've had a bit of a break from the Internet - blogging, twitter and instagram. Its time to ease myself back in ;)

We've had Christmas and New Year - both extremely busy and stressful times of the year for someone who works in retail. I have just been so tired, so working, and falling asleep on the sofa has been my routine for a while now.

I've joined a gym. Well, actually, I joined ages ago, but illness and knee pain has kept me from going. Not any more; now it's time to get myself sorted out, lose some weight and strengthen my poor knees! Which means a lot of my time will be spent slogging it out on a treadmill. Bleurgh!

I've had a lot of bad nail breaks. Like, a lot. Every time my nails would start getting back to a level of normality, another one would go. And it completely stripped my nail / blogging mojo. I started leaving polish on for a few days at a time, which is not like me. My nails are still not up to my preferred level, but I've been slapping on the Nail Envy and taking supplements like nobodies business. And they're getting better.

So, whats changed, you might ask.

Well, it's nearly my blogiversary - one whole year of Nails and Tales.And there is so much I still haven't done. SO I want to get my blog back into shape, not just me!

After buying (and almost filling) my first nail-only Helmer (LOVE) I've been remembering old forgotten purchases. And setting myself goals to actually use them.

I've been doing the occasional mani for my sister and sister-in-law. Playing with nail art, and generally having fun. Its time I gave myself time to do it for me too!

Over the next few days, I'll be spamming a few photos I have taken over the Christmas period, and a few old forgotten posts from before my unintended break. And then I'll be starting to try some new things too, and get back into nail art, rather than just polish! Wish me luck!

I hope you've all had a fab Christmas and New Year - I wish you all the best for 2013, and I'll see you guys soon!

Happy Polishing,

Love Charlotte x

Color Club Back To Boho - Part 2!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome back to Part 2 of my latest Color Club stash! The Back to Boho collection is an almost perfect Autumn/Winter collection - despite it being last year's collection, its still a great one to have!

Let's crack on, shall we?

Color Club Artsy Crafty

 

 

This is one of those polishes that leave me wondering if they are worth the effort. The colour is lovely - a sort of British Racing Green - but application was not. This was just two coats, but the polish formula was a bit too runny for me. It was the hardest to apply, it needed a lot of clean up AND it stained my cuticles.  You can see how messy it is in the pictures.


Color Club Blue-topia

 

Another polish, which wasn't what I expected! At first glance, this looks a bit purple-y in the bottle, but when applied its very very blue! Its an ultra-glossy blackish blue - very vampy! This was just two coats, and again the formula was a little bit runny, and prone to stain. However, this was a lot nicer to apply compared to Artsy Crafty.


Color Club Rebel Spirit

 

 

 

Last but not least, we have this rich reddish brown. It looks like a grunge-y khaki brown in the bottle, and well, a bit dirty. I had rather low expectations of this, and if it hadn't been in the set, I would never have bought it or tried it. Instead, we have something that is a lot more elegant and grown up. This polish needed 2 coats, as it was a little bit streaky to apply. This is the polish I'll go to, when I want something dark, but not true black. I'm so glad I have this in my collection - this is a close second to being my favourite from this collection - Nouveau Vintage is my top pick from this set!

What do you think? Do you have any favourites from the Back To Boho collection?

What are your top picks for the darker months?

Let me know,

Love Charlotte x

Color Club Back To Boho - Part 1

Hi Everyone!

Whilst this is a collection from 2011, I have only acquired it recently! And I am so glad that I did, as it is a great collection for Autumnal nails! Its full of rich, jewel tones and a couple of surprising flecked polishes full of shimmer!

I got the second part of this collection, courtesy of Beth who spotted it in her local TK Maxx (a polish haven, yes?) and quite rightly, she knew I'd love it!! I'm going to share the first three with you today! All polishes are shown without top coat, as I wanted to show the polishes as they dry naturally! So here we go!

Color Club Boho Mojo

 

 

OK, so truth be told, this is my least favourite in the collection. Its a bit frosty and streaky for me, however it has a beautiful consistency and feels lovely to apply. This was a 2-3 coater; I could have gotten away with just 2, but I was trying to get rid of the streaks. It has that molten metal sort of finish to it, which is kinda nice, but no matter what I did, those streaks just annoyed me. Especially under the flash. Its all I can see in these pictures, I don't even notice the colour. In the natural light pictures, it does look a lot softer, but I can't spend my days avoiding bright lights just because of my nail colour.


Color Club Nouveau Vintage

 

 

In a nice contrast to Boho Mojo, this is one of my favourites in this collection. Its a bit gorgeous, and the SHIMMER! Oh, it reminds me of the mixture of Autumn leaves, all the beautiful bronzes, golds and browns. In the bottle, it looks a bit grungey, but when its on, its really lovely! This is showing 2 coats - the polish applied really nicely and dried quite quickly too! Gorgeous formula and a beautiful finish!


Color Club Voodoo You Do

 

 

Again, a slightly frosty polish, but a rather unusual one for me. This had a rather thick formula, which applied OK - not as nicely as the other two though. This was just two coats, and the polish dried to an almost rubbery finish! Its a dark, woody green with lots of shimmer in it - personally, I think the colour is beautiful, and gorgeous for this time of year, but I don't think it suits me. It does look rather elegant on long nails though - if you're a fan of greens, this is a must! Maybe I'll bring it out for some Christmas manicures!

So there we have the first three polishes - keep your eyes open for the next part!

Do you have any must-have Autumn polishes? Any Winter-y recommendations?!

See you soon,

Love Charlotte x

Nude Inspiration

Hi Everyone,

It seems like everywhere I look, nail bloggers are telling me that nude nails are going to be the next big thing.

I am slowly warming to nude nails - they're classy and elegant, grown up and very work friendly. And, there are a lot more shades available now to avoid running the risk of mannequin hands!

I saw this tutorial over at Polish You Pretty, and decided that this was a lovely, seasonal spin on the nude trend!

Alas, my attempt was obviously not as good as theirs, but I'm pretty happy with it all the same!

 

The nude base is 2true Shade 11 - one of their tall, skinny polishes, which are very good considering they are only £1.99 each! I used two different shades of red. Well, technically three, but two of them (Revlon Vixen and Bourjois Very Vernis in Cerise Noire)  turned out to be practically identical! Doh! The other one I used was China Glaze Ruby Pumps! I was desperate to get a bit of glitter in there somehow!

Although patience is a virtue, I guess I'm not always virtuous... As you can see, I applied my top coat just a little too soon and we had a bit of a smear on a dot or two, but despite that, I'm very happy with how this turned out! Especially on my little short nails!

How will you be wearing the nude trend? Playing it straight, or with your own little flair? Let me know, I'd love to see your manis!

Love Charlotte x

Remember, Remember...

The Fifth of November!

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick one from me today, as I wanted to share my fireworks mani with you!

 

This is two coats of Topshop's Gypsy Night, with a couple of stripes from various nail art pens to make my rather girly firework! Gypsy night is a brownish black jelly infused with multi-coloured and multi-sized glitter flecks which pop up in different lights! I thought of this one, as the multi-coloured flecks have always made me think of fireworks on a dark sky... but I couldn't resist adding a few of my own!

Whatever you do tonight, please stay safe! A pretty fizz in the sky is not a worthy risk for hurting yourself! And remember our little furry friends who will be terrified of all the loud noises and bangs, or who may have made themselves a little nest in the bottom of your bonfire. Please take a minute to check that all creatures are safe and sound too!

Have a great night,

Love Charlotte x

Leighton Denny - Message In A Bottle

Hi Everyone,

Well, if there was a message in this bottle, it's 'Buy Me NOW!'.

It shouted to me from the M+S Beauty Hall. I seem to be there a lot lately. Foolish, but wonderful!

Anyway, this polish is almost identical to my beloved Accessorize Colorado - shown here! The grey is slightly paler, and the shimmer more noticeable. The formula is also better too! Granted, it's a lot more expensive... but... I couldn't help it.

This applied beautifully! I used two coats, but three would have been perfect, as a slight bit of VNL shows up under the flash. It was fine in normal daylight... but an extra coat for good luck never hurt anyone!

In comparison the the Accessorize version, this seems that little bit more refined. Softer, and a little bit cleaner. I love it.

What do you think? Leighton Denny, or Accessorize? Or Nails Inc of course?

Let me know,

Love Charlotte x